O. Long; slender; thin; short, small stem; convex base; notched upward from the corners of the base; short barbs. The type shown in [figure 236] is from Loudon county, Tennessee, and other specimens come from eastern Tennessee and southeastern Arkansas.
Fig. 237.—Stemmed chipped flint, oval outline, notched.
P. Convex edges and base; sometimes, though very seldom, the edges are nearly straight; the typical, leaf-shape implement, except for the notch, which is always worked in from the widest part of the specimen at right angles to the axis. The base is invariably polished, even in the smallest specimens. From Licking county ([figure 237]) as well as from Miami valley and throughout central Ohio; Kanawha valley; eastern Tennessee; southwestern Illinois; northeastern Alabama; southern Wisconsin; and about Savannah, Georgia.
Q. Edges less convex than the last, sometimes straight; the notches are worked in nearer the base, going in an angle of about 45 degrees, instead of perpendicular to the middle line or axis. Sometimes the blade is of uniform thickness until very close to the edges, which are worked off in a double chisel-edge. Very few of these, or of group P, are small enough for arrows. Usually symmetrical and well finished; the base always polished, but whether from use or to add to the utility of the specimen can not be determined. From Miami valley, Ohio; Keokuk, Iowa; southwestern Wisconsin; and eastern Tennessee.
R. Differing from the two last described only in being longer, and in having the stem always come to a point by either convex or concave lines, instead of being regularly convex; base never polished. From Kanawha valley, West Virginia, and central Arkansas.
S. Edges usually straight, sometimes concave, rarely convex; notched in deeply from edges; seldom barbed; stem nearly always wider than the blade, and large. Base convex; occasionally somewhat concave with rounded corners, and nearly always polished. Some (including all from the Savannah collection) are beveled and a few have blunt and rounded points, apparently broken specimens reworked. From less than an inch to nearly 3 inches long. Even among the very small ones, some have the base polished.
An implement of this form, or of any form in which the stem is wide or with very long tangs, and especially with concave base, would be well adapted for hunting purposes. The wide stem would allow firm attachment to a shaft, whether as an arrow or a spear, and at the same time would be very difficult to withdraw from a wound. The shaft would impede the flight of an animal pierced by the weapon, particularly in weeds or bushes; though greater force would be required with these than with the more slender points to make them effective.
Fig. 238.—Stemmed chipped flint.